Police arrest man in South Shore Plaza shooting

MALL VLOG!!! / South Shore Plaza

A 23-year-old man was arrested in Quincy early Saturday morning and charged with shooting at a gang rival inside the Macys in the South Shore Plaza Friday night, police said.

Michael J. Spence Jr. is being held on firearm charges including unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition, and discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a building, according to a press release from the Braintree Police Department.

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An official with knowledge of the investigation said the South Shore Plaza incident appeared to be connected to the fatal shooting of Jovani Devon Jeudy Jan. 21 on Nightingale Street in Dorchester.

No one was injured at the mens shoe department inside Macys when the suspect opened fire at around 7 p.m. Friday, law enforcement officials have said.

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Gunfire sent hundreds of shoppers running, with many hiding in stairwells, closets, or storage rooms for fear there was an active shooter inside the mall.

Shots are fired at South shore plaza in braintree

the shooting occurred in the Macys shoe department, where an altercation between two rival gang members from Boston escalated into a shooting.

Braintree Police Chief Paul J. Shastany said Friday night the shooting appeared to have been the result of an accidental run-in between members of two gang factions from Boston.

Spence allegedly fled the mall immediately after the shots were fired, though police from multiple cities and towns joined SWAT team members who spent hours searching the shopping center store by store to make sure he was not hiding there.

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In addition to the current charges Spence faces, there is also a probation or detainer warrant on him, Braintree police said.

Police used surveillance videos to help identify Spence, according to the Braintree police statement.

The chaos that beset the mall Friday had lifted by Saturday morning when the malls employees returned to work.

Still, the violent outburst inside a bustling public space left some shoppers shaken.

Around 11 a.m., the loading ramp of a cargo truck hit the pavement in the crowded Macys lot with a loud bang.

Shopper Xiaia Campos of Dorchester flinched.

She jumped because shes scared of what happened last night, explained 31-year-old

Dorchester resident Yanira Valencia, Camposs daughter.

Valencia and Campos went to the mall Saturday to buy a gift for an upcoming baby shower.

In a Macys doorway, Valencia said she was on her way to South Shore Plaza to shop Friday night but at the last minute chose not to go.

For some reason, I just decided not to, Valencia said, her eyebrows raised.

She was unnerved after learning of the shooting and said she is grateful that she didnt end up shopping Friday night.

Its scary because we come here all the time, Valencia said.

Kalpita Rane, 30, smiled as she held the door for another patron after 11 a.m.

Think its safe? the Braintree resident quipped.

Rane said her friend sent a text message to her shortly after 7 p.m. Friday. Her friend was shopping at American Eagle and heard the gunfire.

The friends message read, Dont come to the mall, Rane said.

Rane said her friend first suspected the shooting was carried out by terrorists. A cool-headed American Eagle manager rushed panicked shoppers to a storage room, Rane said.

She kept them calm and protected them, Rane said.

Hingham resident Gerry Foley, 59, said the shooting happened a little too close to home.

When I heard about it on the news, the first thing I thought was that it was another terrorist thing, Foley said.

Foley praised law enforcement for responding to the incident quickly and with heavy manpower.

The police response was admirable, I thought, Foley said.

Lynette Williams, also 59, of Roxbury, said she is not one bit nervous about shopping at South Shore Plaza.

It was an isolated incident, Williams said on her way into Macys. I was just hoping that everyone was OK.

Evan Allen can be reached at evan.allen@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @evanmallen. Amanda Burke can be reached at amanda.burke@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @charlie_acb.

Source: http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2017/02/04/police-arrest-man-south-shore-plaza-shooting/j8AiZ2DXNQw5LQ239hjhQJ/story.html